Emotional Regulation and Interpersonal Effectiveness as Mechanisms of Change for Treatment Outcomes Within a DBT Program for Adolescents

Predictive modeling was used to identify the degree that hypothesized moderators of dialectical behavioral therapy for adolescents (DBT-A) treatment outcomes predicted anxiety and depression symptoms over time. Participants were 66 adolescents (41 girls; 25 boys) with a mean age of 15.38 years (SD = 1.51) who completed a 7-week DBT-A intervention. Analyses revealed convergent models, wherein emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness were substantial predictors of change in the symptoms of anxiety, F(4, 65) = 23.21, p < .01, R2 = .60, and depression, F(4, 65) = 29.76, p < .01, R2 = .66.